Hist., 1898, Six specimens from New Berlin, Anastasia Island, Enterprise,and Gainesville, Florida.. Bangs' examples from Florida and Georgia, but Mr.Surber's six specimens give an averag
Trang 3Mr Surber made two trips to the south Atlantic States and
Florida, in the winters of 1899-1900, and 1900-1901, and the present
collection ofskins, amounting to about four hundred and fifty, is the
result ofhis labor He stopped at different places on his route toFlorida where thetypes ofnewlydescribed forms had been procured,such as Riceboro, St. Marys, etc. He was refused permission totrap on'Cumberland Island and consequently was unable to obtainspecimens of the Geomys found there and described by Mr Bangs
In Florida he visited various type localities and a considerable
numberof topotypes were procured. The mammals of Florida have
suffered many divisions, or as it may be termed, disintegration of
species,and it was my desire toobtainas manyspecimensas possible,especially of those belonging to sub-species, in order to get anideawhether ornot these forms could produce any convincing reasons fortheir existence Of some of these, such as the opossum, and themole from Anastasia Island, a definite conclusion was reached, but
of the raccoon and certain mice and gophers (Geomys), my series
After finding, as was the case in one instance, that seventy
speci-mens of the species and race were not enough to establish a claim tosubspecific rank, one might naturally ask, how many examples mustone have before he is authorized toform an opinion as to subspecific
values? Few persons comparatively can have at their disposalseventy specimens of a singleform, and if these are not sufficient
to establish a species or subspecies, it would seem likely that the
Floridahas been a fruitful field for the creation of subspecies,
and few opportunities for describing them have been missed, but a
number are evidently in a veryunsatisfactory state, and require an
Trang 4altogether too large array of witnesses to keep them from fallingback into the obscurity from which they have been mistakinglybrought.
It is to be hoped, however, that the pendulum has reached the
farthest point in its swing towards an extreme radicalism in therecognition of forms, and as it returns to a reasonable equipoise, that
a more conservative, and as it appears to many, a more sensible
treatment ofthe often insignificant differences in the appearance of
animals may be attained
ORDER MARSUPIALIA.
FAM DIDELPHYID.E.
DIDELPHYS.
Didelphys virginiana
Didelphys virginiana Linn Syst. Nat., i. 1758, p 54.
Didelphys pigra Bangs, Proc Bost Soc Nat Hist., 1898,
Six specimens from New Berlin, Anastasia Island, Enterprise,and Gainesville, Florida
These examples ought to belong to the race namedpigraby
Mr Bangs, but I fail utterly to discover anycharacter to
dis-tinguish them from typical D virginiana. Mr Bangs states
(1 c.) that pigra is "smaller" than the Virginia opossum,with a
"longer and more slender tail and smaller feet." All these
are comparative distinctions and may be observed among
indi-viduals in any series of opossums from various localities,occasionally even from the same locality. In size these six
specimens range in their total length from 712 to 890 mm., andthe tails from 300 to 370. It will thus be seen thatwithin these
figures are practically embraced the measurements of the ginia opossum, which ranges, in my experience, from 570 to 871
Florida animal does not seem to be smaller than the typicalform, but the tail may be slightly longer. If this is a character,
however, it demands an absolute certainty of locality and a
considerable number of examples to prove as to which form a
specimen may belong, two desiderata not always possible to
command Of twelve specimens of D virginiana, in the New
York Museum of Natural History, the measurements of whichwere to me by Dr Allen, the following
Trang 5JUNE, igoi MAMMALS FROM N C , S C , GA AND FLA ELLIOT 33
sent the averages: Total length, 772.33 mm.; tail vertebrae,316.5; hind foot, 66.6; among these were two tailsonly 255 and
270 mm. in length. Mr Bangs' twelve specimens ofpigra (1 c.)
average, total length 809.1; tail vertebrae, 343.6; hindfoot, 62.
The animals, it will be observed, average considerably largerthan those of virginiana from Dr Allen, and their tailspossess
no greater length than their largersizerequirestobe in harmony.The foot average is 66.6 for the typical form, and 62 for those
of Mr Bangs' examples from Florida and Georgia, but Mr.Surber's six specimens give an average foot measurement of 71.
Mr Bangs' first six specimens give an average footmeasurement
of 68.1, and the first six of Dr Allen's 65.5. It does not seem
therefore, from these figures that the average measurements of
the Florida opossum is smaller than the northern form But it
would not be safe to depend upon a length of tail for specificdistinction, when that varies from 287 to 402. Size as a
character can never be depended upon
The following tables show the measurements of Dr Allen's
and' Mr Bangs' specimens
DIDELPHYS VIRGINIANA.
Trang 6MR BANGS' FLORIDA AND GEORGIA SPECIMENS.
LOCALITY
Trang 7JUNE, 1901 MAMMALS FROM N C., S. C., GA FLA ELLIOT 35west coast, it is difficult to secure specimens, a dog being neces-
writes that they seem to be practically extinct, but in the pinelands south and west of Riceboro, they are tolerablycommon.
He adds, "there are more fox squirrels within twenty milesabout Jacksonville, Florida, than in any place visited by the
writer in the State In the vicinity of Enterprise they arenearlyextinct." One of the specimens from NewBerlin has theunder parts dark buff, while the rest of thebody, head, legs and
entire tail above and beneath is jet black, relieved only bythe white nose and edge of ears. This melanistic pelage in
such a completecondition is very rare. The Riceboroexample
shows an inclination towards melanism, as the edges of thighsand armsare jetblack, and theunder parts blackish. The other
New Berlin specimen has a normal coloration
Sciurus carolinensis
Sciurus carolinensis Gmel Syst. Nat., i, 1788, p 148.
Thirteen examples: i, Apex, North Carolina; 2, Calhoun
Falls, South Carolina; 4, St. Mary's, Georgia; i, Riceboro,Georgia ; i, New Berlin, i, St. Charles Creek, i, Oak Lodge, i,
Enterprise, and i, Crystal River, Florida.
In this small series ofthe gray squirrel from various localities,
a surprising variation in measurements is found among theadults The largest from Apex, North Carolina, has a total
length of 490 mm., and tail vertebrae, 215 The total length ofthe St. Mary's specimens ranges from 420-450; tail vertebrae,
175-220; while that of the Florida examples is 425-440; tail
vertebrae, 200-215 > tne last averaging in total length 431.7, or 7
mm. less than Bangs' S c. extimus, which is called the smallest
suited to some of these Florida skins, but they also agree fectly with those from the north in color of pelage,and undoubt-edly should be regarded as S carolinensis, although apparentlypossessing all the characters that are given as distinguishing
per-S c. extimus I regret that at present I have no examples fromDadeCounty, the typical localityoiS c.extimus, to compare withthese more northern specimens, and so get a better conception
of the value of the sub-species as a separate form. Judgingfrom the alone one would have little hesitation in
Trang 8calling the animals from Enterprise and Oak Lodge extimus,but unfortunately they refuse to be separated from the true
from E Penn opposite Micco, and also from Tarpon Springs,Enterprise and Micco, and all except the first are the same in
size and appearance as those procured by Mr Surber, whichmight indicate that the Florida form in some places is inclined
to be smaller than the northern I say in some places, for
unfortunately for even this supposition, I find the specimenfrom E Penn opposite Micco, collected by Mr. F M Chap-man, gives the measurements taken in the flesh, total length,
490; tail vertebrae, 260; thus equaling the total length of Mr.Surber's largest example from North Carolina It would seem
from these facts very doubtful if there was more than one form
of gray squirrel in Florida, for none could possibly imagine that
two racesso closely allied as these must be, would be found in
the same State
Regarding some of these examples, Mr Surber writes: " Thespecimen taken at Riceboro, Ga., is small, and I was toldthat ail taken inthat vicinity are like it." (This measures, total
length, 450; tail vertebrae, 215). "In the hardwood hummocks,
both at New Berlin and Enterprise, squirrels of probably thesmall Florida form are fairly common, but theyare unknown in
the pine woods, being altogether confined to the heavy swampsand hummocks in both Florida and Georgia. I was told they
had becomevery rare aboutMicco during the past two or threeyears."
SCIUROPTERUS.
Sciuropterus volans.
Mus volans Linn Syst. Nat., i, 1776, p. 85.
Eight examples: 7, Calhoun Falls, South Carolina; i, St.
Mary's, Georgia
Three of the Calhoun Falls specimens have the under side ofthe tail inclined to a pinkish color, very similar to one of theEnterprise skins supposed to be 6" v. querceti and if the locality
was unknown theywould probablybe referred to that species bymost systematists. It is rather far north, however, to look for a
gradation into the Florida subspecies, and so we can only
them as colored individuals of S rolans.
Trang 9JUNE, 1901 MAMMALS FROM N C., S C., GA ELLIOT 37
Sciuropterus volans querceti
Sciuropterus volans querceti Bangs, Proc Biol Soc Wash.,
1896, p 166.
Two specimens from Enterprise, Florida
of the pinkish red undersurface of the tail. They are not alike
in this coloration, one being of a very much deeper hue than the
other and, indeed, more pinkish than an example beforeme from
Tarpon Springs Mr. Bangs says that .this subspecies passes
into true volans in southern Georgia, a series ofspecimens from
St. Marys, Ga., being intermediate between the two Judgingfrom the Calhoun Falls specimens above mentioned, we will beobliged to carry the lineof separation quite a space northward
A large series of flying squirrels from the Atlantic States into
southern Floridawill alone enable us to form a correct
judg-ment as to whether this form is worthy of a separate rank, and
if so, where the dividing line of species and subspecies really
Seventeen examples: 7 Riceboro (type locality), Georgia; 3,
New Berlin; i, St. Charles Creek; 6, Gainesville, Florida
This species did not appear to be very abundant at any of theplaces visited byMr Surber, asthe small number of specimenstaken proves.
Peromyscus g. palmarius
Peromyscus g. palmarius Bangs, Proc Biol Soc Wash.,
Trang 10Thirty-six specimens: 2, near Oak Lodge (type locality); 4,Micco; 3, E Penn opposite Micco; 13, Enterprise; 10, Crys-
tal River; 4, Tarpon Springs, Florida.
This close ally of P gossypinuswas not uncommon in certain
notes, says: "The cotton mice secured at Enterprise weretaken
in palmetto hummocks exclusively, twoof the specimens havingbeen taken from an old Neotoma nest in a hollow log lying about
thismouse atMicco, takingthemallamongthe scrubon thesand
ridge justwest of the Indian River Of thefive specimens taken
on the East Peninsula, near Oak Lodge, four of them camefromthe beach among the sea oats, while the otherwas taken on theriver side among the mangrove bushes." At Crystal River, on
the large swamps, but swamps were scarce about Citronelle, thecountry being high pine ridges, and not a single specimen wassecured Cotton mice live in the swamps and canebrakes, and
it is a rare thing if one is found where the country is highand dry."
This form so closely resembles P gossypinus that it is notalways easy to distinguish them from each other, and of the two
series before me there are a number of individuals in each so
nearly alike that, should they lose their labels, it would be possible to rename them as they were, unless by a mere chance.The characters that distinguish this form, as given by Bangs
im-(1 c.), are " colors
paler and more yellowish, no decided darker
dorsalband; ablackorbital ring; hindfoot shorter." Allof thesecharacters I find inthe specimensof P gossypinus, andcharacterssuch as are given forthespecies andsubspecies are alsofound in
examples from Gainesville The average length of thehind foot
of the two forms is about the same, but in the majority of thesubspecies they measure22and 23 mm. In many, indeed I maysay in most, of the specimens there is a decided darker dorsalband,andthe generalcolors are no paler thaninP.gossypinus, butthe orbital ring is generally darker, though some of the specific
forms have the ring equally dark Altogether, while I am of theimpression that this form will eventually become a synonym of
P gossypinus, I do not considerthat my material is sufficient to
enable me to reach a final decision It may pass as a
sub-with the Scotchverdict "not
Trang 11JUNE, 1901 MAMMALS FROM N C., S C., GA AND ELLIOT 39
and there are specimens before me of this form, and of P g.
pattnarms from Enterprise and of P gossypinus from Riceboro,Georgia, that are precisely alike in coloration, and cannot beseparated As a rule, the Espanita examples may be slightly
paler than those of P gossypinus, but dark ones are met withamong them that will equal the deeper hues of the other forms.Larger series, and from numerous localities, would be necessary
to decide the validity of a subspecific rank
Peromyscus nuttalli
Peromyscus nuttalli. (Harl.), Am. Month Journ., 1832, p.
446
Thirty specimens: 9, Apex; 6, Roanoke Rapids, North
With one exception, all the Calhoun Falls examples were
taken, Mr. Surber says, "in a marshyplace at the head of asmall ravine, and all the others in a low, wet, hardwood forest,
wherethey were probably numerous amongthe many half-rotten
logs with which the earth was strewn This tract of timberwas
original forest, with such trees a ash, swamp oak and hickory
prevailing, with here and there a small walnut tree. Manyspecimens had the cheek pouches crammed with rolled oats,
with which the traps were baited, also grassseeds."
Peromyscus floridanus
Peromyscus floridanus (Chapman), Bull Amer Mus Nat
Hist., 1889, p 117.
Twenty-nine examples: 10, Espanita, Anastasia Island; 9,
Micco; 5, Enterprise; 3, Citronelle; i, Crystal River; i, Tarpon
Springs, Florida
On Anastasia Island, Mr Surber says, "this mouse will befound a common species, inhabiting that part which is coveredwith a growth of scrub oaks and saw palmettos, its favorite
haunts wherever found in theState Six specimens were taken
in this sort of surroundings, and another was secured on the
Trang 12yet be found a common species, I feel perfectly safe, for by far
the greater part of the island isjust suited to its habitat, being
an endless growth of scrub, and high and dry." At Enterprise
he found this species " inthe flatwoods scrub In some places
in those woods the scrub oaks and saw palmettos grow rather
sparingly, leaving the bare white sand showing in large patches,and here iswhere I securedall myspecimens Inthe flat woods,one-quarter ofa milewest of Micco, I secured quitea little series
of this beautiful mouse in identically the same character of
surroundings as at Enterprise, and we must conclude it is asplentifulin theflat woods, when not too thickly overgrownwith
scrub, asonthesandhills. At Micco Itookonein the freshwatermarsh On Anastasia Island all the specimens of this mouse
were taken on top of the sand ridge next the beach." Noexamples were procured at Gainesville, and the country aboutCrystal Riverwas not suitable for the animal, but at Citronelle
and Tarpon Springs it was favorable At the latter place manyburrows were found under clumps of dead beanstalks and grass,
"about 2 to 2^ inches in diameter, and 6 inches deep,
descend-ing perpendicularlyin the sandy soil. No effort was made to
conceal the entrance I could not find them in any other place,though sand hills and ridges suitable for their abode werecommon enough."
Of this species Mr Surber says, "I took over 30 specimens
of the beach mouse on the East Peninsula just south of OakLodge, but the ants ruined all but four. Theydid notappear to
be very numerousas I had about sixtytraps out and shouldhavecaught over a hundred in the same length of time if they hadbeen abundant I found them nowhere but among the sea oats
on the beach."
Peromyscus niveiventris phasma.
Peromyscus phasma Bangs, Proc Bos Soc Nat Hist.,
1898, p 199.
Florida
Trang 13JUNE, 1901 MAMMALS FROM N C., S C , GA AND FLA ELLIOT 41This beautiful little mouse is averycloseally of P. niveiventris,
resembling it so closely that it can only properly be considered
as a subspecies The white of the. under parts extends farther
that is about all the difference between the two forms Mr.Surber's notes givethe followingaccount of this animal- " Thismouse, which is prettier than its near relative P niveiventris,
sea oats on the upper beach, and there I was able to trace them
to their burrows at the base of a bunch of sea oats or bush, by
their little footprints I saw a great many of their burrows,
which were about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, andrunning back at an angle of about 30 degreesintothe sand Theburrows were generally prettywell concealed bytheoverhangingblades of grass."
Peromyscus subgriseus
Peromyscus subgriseus (Chapman), Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat
Hist., 1893, p. 340
- Eleven specimens from Gainesville, Florida
Of this species Mr. Surber writes: "About two miles south of
the city (Gainesville), along the rock road, there is a small,
ratherrocky hill, cleared of all trees, and grown up in broom
grass and rag weed There appeared to be quite a colonyof
these interesting little micein that hill, and though most of thegrass and weeds had been burnt away leaving their burrowsexposed, they were still holding the ground, and all the speci-
mens secured were taken at that place, though I trapped for
them inevery direction about the city. Apparentlythey live in
colonies and on the higher rocky and sandy ridges A number
of specimens were destroyed by ants, but a small series weresaved in good order."
Trang 14speci-while those from Calhoun Falls are inclined to a rufous brown mixed with black, the former color, however,predominating, andthe examples from *Gainesville cannot be separated from thoseobtained at Calhoun Falls. The trouble with specimens of this
rat is that their color varies so much, and this is particularly
noticeable according to the way in which the light strikes them
(with or against the hair), so that one is easily misled as to what
the real hueis. When the light shows with the hairthe coloris
always darkest, and a specimen that is quite dark one way is
sometimes comparatively pale the other It is a curious
distri-bution, if we mustrecognizeaspecies andsubspecies, that SouthCarolinaexamples should most nearlyresembleandbe seeminglyinseparable from those near Gainesville, while those lower downthewest coast of Florida and yet not far removed from the city
just named,should be apparently nearer to Micco andEnterpriseexamples If there is a race of S. hispidus in Florida, it has in
its midst a colony of the specific form, and if color is to be the
criterion I cannot connect that colony with the northern animals
by my specimens from New Berlin and Anastasia Island, whichappear to agreebetter with Micco and Enterprise examples.
Sigmodon hispidus littoralis.
Sigmodon littoralis. Chapman, Bull Amer Mus Nat Hist.,
1889, p 118.
Twenty-seven specimens: 2, New Berlin; 9, Espanita,
Ana-stasia Island; 3, E Penn opposite Micco (type locality); 4,
Micco; 4, Enterprise; 3, Citronelle; 2, Tarpon Springs, Florida.
These examples I refer to Mr Chapman's subspecies He
says it is similar to S hispidus, but darker The skins before
me cannot be said to carry out this supposed distinction Thedarkest are those from Micco, and the lightest those from E
Pennopposite Micco. The dark ones from Miccoareequalledin
color and depth of huebythespecimens from Riceboro, Georgia,and I see no way of separating them, while the Citronelle
and Tarpon Springs examples match fairly well with thosefrom E Penn and these agree with some fromAnastasia Island
There would seem to be therefore a considerablevariation in thedepth of colorof this rat, andasexamples do not always resembleeach otherfrom particular localities, when they should do so to
enable the race to be satisfactorily established, and specimensfrom even the samelocalityvaryamongthemselves, and although
Trang 15JUNE, igoi MAMMALS FROM N C , S C., GA AND FLA ELLIOT 43
this series is not very large (71 specimens, counting those of all
the states represented), yet it should giveone a fair idea as to
what discernible differences exist, and where gradation from
species to race begins, while in fact it does nothing of the kind.From these specimens I should be inclined, taking them as one
lot, to regard those from Florida as thelighterof thetwo, instead
of the darker, although as I have said those from Micco are very
dark, but E. Penn specimens and certain ones from Espanita,Anastasia Island, and also from Citronelle, are lined with claycolored or very pale yellow hairs amid the black
Judging therefore from this series, it would seem that a largecollection of this rat from both the south Atlantic States and
Florida, and from numerous localities, will be required before
the properstatus of the subspecies can be satisfactorily mined Besides the specimens already enumerated, there are in
deter-the Museum others from E Penn, Enterprise, Gainesville,
Flamingo and Jupiter, all collected by Mr Chapman, and
con-sidered by him to be S h littoralis. These vary in coloration,
but not so much as the specimens in my series do, probablybecause they are few, only eight However, two from E Penn
opposite Micco, present a very dark, almost black appearance,unlikeany inmy series from thesamelocality, and alsoone lined
with claycolored hairs like my examples The specimen from
Flamingo is ofthe lighter style, while again the one fromJupiter
is dark Enterprise possesses both styles, but the Gainesvillespecimen cannot be separated from those from South Carolina.The animal evidently has a very variable coloration, and, from
the evidence before me, itwould seem to offer a very unreliable
character for separating individuals in certain parts of Floridafrom those found in the more northern states.
ORYZOMYS.
Oryzomys palustris
Oryzomys palustris. (Harlan), Amer Journ. Scien., 1837, p.
385-_
Eighteen specimens: 2, Calhoun Falls, South Carolina; 5,
Riceboro; 3, St. Marys, Georgia; 8, New Berlin, Florida
This species was evidently not very common. Mr Surber
says: "I first met with
Oryzomys at Calhoun Falls, South
Carolina, securing two specimens at the head of alittle creek in
a canebrake At New Berlin I saw a few of their nests, built
in the marshgrass well above high-water mark, and here a few
Trang 16Oryzomys palustris natator.
Oryzomys p. natator Chapman,Bull Amer Mus Nat.Hist.,
1893, p
44-Nineteen specimens: 3, Espanita, Anastasia Island; 3, Micco;
10, Enterprise; 3, Gainesville, Florida
Mr Chapman, in his description of this form, says that it is
darker than North Carolina specimens,and judgingfrom a single
example before me, from Raleigh, North Carolina, I should say
this was correct,but it will not answerfora character in general,for the examples of O palustris in thesmall series before me are
verymuch darker than those representingthe subspecies, and somuch darker than the North Carolina specimen as to be strik-
ingly different. Writing of their nests, Mr Surber says that
"some of them are as large as those of Microtus (Neofiber) alleni,
found their nests in bunches of cat-o-nine tails, built up about afoot above the water, butinsomecases higher, never beingfound
on the water level. Theyarecomposed principally of theblades
ofthe cat-o-nine tails interwoven with some wire grass, with oneentrance on the side, rather underneath."
RHITHRODONTOMYS.
Rhithrodontomys lecontei
Rhithrodontomys lecontei (Aud and Bachm.,) Jour Acad.Nat Scien Phil., 1842, p. 307
Seven examples from Gainesville, Florida
"A number of the harvest mouse,'1
says Mr Surber, "were
taken and ruined byants and hot weather Ifound itassociatedwith Peromyscussubgriseuson the high land south of the city, butothers were taken on lower land among the broom grass. This
mouse apparentlylives on the seedsof the broom grass, for it is
invariably foundin such growth."
Rhithrodontomys lecontei dickinsoni
Rhithrodontomys 1. dickinsoni Rhoads, Am. Nat., xxix,
Trang 18MICROTUS (NEOFIBER) ALLENI.
PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE.
Trang 19JUNE, 1901 MAMMALS FROM N C., S. C., GA AND FLA ELLIOT 45
of recognition as most forms that enjoy a similar rank How it
would stand the test of a large series I amnot prepared to say,
but at present give it the benefitof the doubt Itdoes not agreewith the specimens of Rhithrodontomysfrom Gainesville, and I
believe the example is the first taken in eastern Florida
The above were the only places where Mr Surberfound this
rat. He says: "A month's search about New Berlin failed,
and I am confident it is not found very near there Bangs
records severalspecimens from NewBerlin, takenbyMr. Brown,
but they must have been taken several miles distant in the
swamps Thenative name for this rat about Enterprise is 'cow
rat'; at several different points at this place I saw work of this
rat,, but it was all old. In a low, wet hummock, by the side of
Lake Munroe, two specimens, an adult and a young 9,. weresecured."
MICROTUS.
Microtus (Neofiber) alleni
Neofiber alleni. True, Science, iv, 1884, p. 347
Twenty-three specimens: 8, Enterprise; 15, Gainesville,Florida
This was one of the species found in Floridawhich Mr Surber
was particularly instructed to seek In places such as OakLodge, where Mr. Bangs had formerlyfound them numerous,
not a specimenwas secured nor an individual seen, and even in
number Is this species marching toward extinction? Thefollowing areMr Surber's accounts of this animal, as observed at
Enterprise and Gainesville:
"
I found twocoloniesofNeofiberin asmalllake calledGleason's
pond", about two miles north of Enterprise, one colony of about
other was a mile distant in the northern end, also of about the
same number of nests. Either the Florida muskrat builds two